Film actor John Travolta will face former employee Douglas Gotterba in a trial at Santa Barbara Superior Court to decide whether a 28-year-old termination agreement can require Gotterba's silence about his personal and professional experiences working under Travolta.
In the most recent action on the matter, Judge Donna Geck denied a motion by Travolta’s counsel on June 26 to dismiss the case. In her eyes, the evidence regarding Gotterba’s termination was sufficiently tangled to require a trial in court.
The facts in the case date back to Gotterba's 2012 National Enquirer interview in which he announced plans to write a tell-all book exposing an alleged six-year affair with Travolta during his employment as a pilot in the 1980s. He claimed the relationship began in 1981 when Travolta offered a massage that quickly escalated into sex. Gotterba told the Enquirer that throughout the course of their relationship, the now 60-year-old actor took him on exotic trips, always with women along to deceive the public about their ongoing affair. According to Gotterba, the affair ended in 1986 after Travolta began to exhibit jealous behavior, often showing up “unannounced” to “check up” on the pilot. Gotterba left his position with Atlo, Inc., Travolta’s aircraft company, in 1987.